The aura that is Sachin

No, Sachin is not why I got interested in cricket. As a child I thought Gavaskar always batted and Kapil bowled. The rest were just nameless faces I wasn't concerned about. I didn't think much about the intricacies of cricket, neither was I bothered. Nor did his being a little kid when he started representing India bowl me over. I must say that it was somewhere during the tour of Australia in 1992. That was the time I was perhaps feeding on a lot of cricket, almost hoping that India would win the World Cup. That was not to be but that was when Sachin caught my eye. Balance on his feet while batting, as if doing a ballet is amazing. In my opinion this is what makes him stand out even today. The faster Aussie pitches didn't seem to bother him at all. He was already one of the most exciting players in the world.

Almost twenty years later, nothing seems to have changed. He is still scoring runs; plays a lot more shots and is still admired the world over. Commemorating twenty years of Sachin as a cricketer there have been plaudits flowing in; some placing him at the highest pedestal and some criticizing that he could have done better. Everybody is entitled to an opinion and each one of them is right in their own way. But aren't such comparisons unfair to the greatest of talents? Doesn't Math teach us that two variables can be compared only when all other dependant variables are the same? I personally have admired other players of this generation as much as Sachin if not more. I don't quite find it rational to compare. I cannot for example subjectively analyze Ponting for example when he is whacking our bowlers all over especially when I want my team to win. There can never be one greatest batsman if I may put it that way.

One young kid set out to play cricket for India one day. He made us smile, we wept when we did, we listened to him when he asked us to support the team, the coach supposedly confided in him when there was fear of a match being fixed, we missed him when we was not around; let us enjoy the sparkle while he is around. If the recent match in Hyderabad against Australia is anything to go by he will light up a few more arenas before he decides to call it a day. Isn't just that thought worth looking forward to?